Yeah, WOW. I knew he was a great actor, and great singer, but he's really particularly in great form in this video. I've never seen a Mark performance I liked better, and it's not because I like NPH, it's because he's just so damn interesting and good at this.
Every time NPH does anything I'm like "he can't pull it off, he's just too much NPH in my head, I can't really see him as anyone else" but then he just goes and pulls it off perfectly. His voice, the way he moves his body, his acting, everything... Just perfect
He is in excellent form. This is the beginning of his road from child star to adult icon. Did he just riff on "La Boheme?" :46 I ain't never heard a Mark do that. I love me some Anthony Rapp as Mark but enthralled by this productions NPH and company. This brings back memories of when "Rent" was red hot. Yes! Thanks for posting.
@@chinadoll886 I mean it's a college show. You work with what you have, and as for the OP's mention of him riffing, there is always room to improvise in the solo's of a live production, particularly the long ones, as long as you don't interfere with the next cue.
How can he be so perfect at every role he play. just look at those gestures and tone changes, it is all so Mark and yet at the same time very NPH. We should nominate him as a modern god of musicals or something like that.
I saw NPH in Rent in LA in the front row many years ago. It was incredible. (I will never forget how much he spit on us during the show!) I remember thinking at the time, “Wow, Doogie Howser is really talented!!” Thanks for posting this!
I saw this production in LA right before Halloween and then ran into most of the cast a couple of weeks later outside of annual Universal's Halloween thing. They all went as a group and it was very cool to see them just hanging out on their day off. It showed the closeness of the cast...but Rent does that. Also I think Wilson Cruz (My So Called Life) played Angel in that production.
Gene Murrell yes, Cruz was Angel in LA... until he left the tour to be Angel in the Broadway production. I saw too NPH, but I don’t recall whether it was before or after Cruz left for NYC.
Back when the movie was just a rumor my friends and I would play a game where we would try to cast the movie ourselves. Whenever it was my turn NPH was always my Mark which my friends thought was weird since it was before both How I Met Your Mother and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Until now I didn't realize that NPH was the first person I saw play Mark.
Neil Patrick Harris was amazing as Mark yes but what about the actor who played Roger his voice was just as good and there voices blend so well together.
This is so good. I knew he was in the tour cast but have never seen any footage except for the performance of What you own that they did on a talk show.
I'm so glad this is posted here. I saw this very production 22 years ago! NPH was insanely amazing as Mark and I loved seeing Wilson Cruz as well. I would go on to see this show at least 19 to 20 more times (thanks student tickets!). Rent will always be a defining part of my youth.
Thank you so much for posting this! Living in LA, this was the first production of Rent I saw. I saw it again a week later. This musical had a huge impact on me and have seen it at least six times since my first time, and once in New York before it closed.
I was *blown away* the first time I saw NPH in *anything* having to do with RENT. I just *never* pictured NPH as a stage actor before (even if he'd been in other B'way shows prior to RENT, they always somehow flew under my proverbial radar).
I saw this production twice in LA. NPH was brilliant. A few years later I saw him as Tobias in "Sweeney Todd," in which he stood out even amongst an all star cast.
He is actually my favorite in this role! The timing in la vie bohéme is much better than the original. I didn't know he was such a triple threat, but damn he really is!
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 aw that’s a bummer 🤧 bu still huge thank u for sharing this, you have no idea how happy this makes me. is there a full version of this somewhere?
Oh my goodness NPH actually played Mark I saw an SNL with different Broadway characters and he was Mark but I had no idea he actually played the role on Broadway
"Vampire welfare queens who are compulsive bowlers" ....did he improvise that? I am fairly certain....RENT+NPH I am squeeing. Thank you so much for posting this!! :D
Wow. I'd seen some really crappy back of house shaky footage of NPH as Mark and kind of never thought much of him in this show based on that. Now that I can actually see his performance though, I gotta say he's better than Rapp. And I love Rapp.
How is this in really good quality. RENT videos that were filmed at this point of time would have been bad quality. That’s pretty cool it has aged well. I am very surprised about the quality.
I thought it made sense for whenever Daphne Rubin Vega portrayed Mimi in a raspy unconventional way because she was supposed to sound like someone who struggles with addiction. But that might be the worst Maureen I’ve ever heard.
I need that sweater so bad.
Bruh same
Don’t we all :)
I didn’t expect to see you here Garrett!
you could get a lot of them like that in the late 1990s and early 2000s. dawson's creek at quite a few.
@hsuaganaga gwqcanagshs are u going to perform it?
I didn't know he was in this but the weird thing is that I thought he would be perfect for this role
halfthiveye me always pictured him as Mark. He’s good too. But Anthony Rapp will always be my Mark
Neil Patrick Harris is such a national treasure.
HiMyNameisPeter international*
SoHardToBeMe no national is correct.
But I’m claiming him for England
Yeah, WOW. I knew he was a great actor, and great singer, but he's really particularly in great form in this video. I've never seen a Mark performance I liked better, and it's not because I like NPH, it's because he's just so damn interesting and good at this.
He is a treasure for all the World
I loathe NPH .... EVEN I THINK HE IS FANTASTIC HERE
I'm so glad he brought his own "Mark" to this version.
This was something I didn't like actually. I prefer the original. Even though I love NPH
@@plm3010 Which is totally fair. It's always hard to replace the first one you see as "best". To each their own.
Oh my god! His portrayal of Mark is top-notch! One of the best ones in history for sure.
No question about it--he was a bit of a revelation, and made it clear that he had a future in musicals.
Every time NPH does anything I'm like "he can't pull it off, he's just too much NPH in my head, I can't really see him as anyone else" but then he just goes and pulls it off perfectly. His voice, the way he moves his body, his acting, everything... Just perfect
He is in excellent form. This is the beginning of his road from child star to adult icon. Did he just riff on "La Boheme?" :46 I ain't never heard a Mark do that. I love me some Anthony Rapp as Mark but enthralled by this productions NPH and company. This brings back memories of when "Rent" was red hot. Yes! Thanks for posting.
Chocolate Souljah agreed. It didn't sound like "Mark" it sounded like NPH doing La Vie Boheme.
Igot to see NPH play Mark in LA. Ifreaked out when I realized that Doogie Howser was playing Mark. He was brilliant!
@@chinadoll886 I mean it's a college show. You work with what you have, and as for the OP's mention of him riffing, there is always room to improvise in the solo's of a live production, particularly the long ones, as long as you don't interfere with the next cue.
Ah. Neil. I'm in my happy place. So talented.
AMEN SISTA!!!!
I was him off book during Sweeny Todd back in 2000 at the ahmanson theatre...he was the coolest person to work with!!!
I think Neil is just one of those all around cool guys.
Also - he totally supported broadway when no Hollywood people were really f**ing with it.
No Expert right? He seems like a solid dude...like, I’d love to sit and have a conversation with him.
i still want to hear him sing rent...the song
How can he be so perfect at every role he play. just look at those gestures and tone changes, it is all so Mark and yet at the same time very NPH. We should nominate him as a modern god of musicals or something like that.
This was great. I've always wanted to see footage of Neil Patrick Harris in RENT
Glad I was able to help.
CRMAH I want to see him in the whole thing but his will satisfy me just a little
I just discovered this info via SNL. Thank you for this!
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 do you have the full version by chance
Neil makes an adorable mark omg
He sang in such a comedic & NPH way and I love it so much!
No kidding! This looks like a heck of a good production. I could listen to him all day.
Susan Weiss I think it's a Broadway footage
I didn't know I needed this till now.😂
Really liked your comment--thanks.
Honestly same
I saw the title of the video, and I thought it was an instructional video of how to rent Neil Patrick Harris and take him home for the weekend.
😂😂😂😂😂
LOL SAME
he's so young!
He‘s a gift to the show business and humanity!
Neil Patrick Harris as Mark was something I didn't know I needed so intensely!!!
this is my favorite rendition of 'what you own' ever. Their voices are gorgeous
I saw NPH in Rent in LA in the front row many years ago. It was incredible. (I will never forget how much he spit on us during the show!) I remember thinking at the time, “Wow, Doogie Howser is really talented!!” Thanks for posting this!
This is a huge inspiration for me. I already knew that he was amazing but not that he was such an amazing Mark.
He was a revelation in the role, and it was immediately obvious that he could have a major musical theatre career if he so desired.
Me too nph inspired me to become what I am now
I love RENT & NPH so this was awesome! I recognize some of the other actors too.
This may be one of the greatest things I've ever seen
I was there! It was my first musical, during college, and he was fantastic!
I saw this new years eve 1997 in Los Angeles it was fantastic...
Make that 1997.
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 yes 1997
I saw this production in LA right before Halloween and then ran into most of the cast a couple of weeks later outside of annual Universal's Halloween thing. They all went as a group and it was very cool to see them just hanging out on their day off. It showed the closeness of the cast...but Rent does that. Also I think Wilson Cruz (My So Called Life) played Angel in that production.
Gene Murrell yes, Cruz was Angel in LA... until he left the tour to be Angel in the Broadway production. I saw too NPH, but I don’t recall whether it was before or after Cruz left for NYC.
I hope you'll find a full musical of this version because I would love to see how Neil Patrick Harris performed in Rent the Musical.
THIS IS AMAZING BECAUSE I LOVE RENT AND I LOVE NEIL
Back when the movie was just a rumor my friends and I would play a game where we would try to cast the movie ourselves. Whenever it was my turn NPH was always my Mark which my friends thought was weird since it was before both How I Met Your Mother and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Until now I didn't realize that NPH was the first person I saw play Mark.
Neil Patrick Harris was amazing as Mark yes but what about the actor who played Roger his voice was just as good and there voices blend so well together.
I was just about to comment with this. Haha. The dude who played Roger was fantastic! Both of them were. Really amazing stuff here.
Yes!!! He was unreal! What a talent combo
YEZ! AGREE 💯
Adam Pascal is the one and only good Roger. This guy sounds like million guys before and after him. Nothing great about him.
This is so good. I knew he was in the tour cast but have never seen any footage except for the performance of What you own that they did on a talk show.
I'm so glad this is posted here. I saw this very production 22 years ago! NPH was insanely amazing as Mark and I loved seeing Wilson Cruz as well. I would go on to see this show at least 19 to 20 more times (thanks student tickets!). Rent will always be a defining part of my youth.
Does anyone else get chills when mark says he quits
Thank you so much for posting this! Living in LA, this was the first production of Rent I saw. I saw it again a week later. This musical had a huge impact on me and have seen it at least six times since my first time, and once in New York before it closed.
He's a really good Mark, omg. I love how he sings everything in his own style. I also prefer most of the stuff he does. Amazing.
This made my night love rent.
He is so amazing!
Oh wow.. He's actually really good as Mark. Not that expected any different from NPH
I was *blown away* the first time I saw NPH in *anything* having to do with RENT. I just *never* pictured NPH as a stage actor before (even if he'd been in other B'way shows prior to RENT, they always somehow flew under my proverbial radar).
I never knew I needed this until now.
I’ll never sing La Vie Boheme the same
Wow he makes an incredible Mark! Just top notch!
I saw this production twice in LA. NPH was brilliant. A few years later I saw him as Tobias in "Sweeney Todd," in which he stood out even amongst an all star cast.
Roger's voice is incredible
Wow, I've never seen him play this role. Phenomenal!
When your two favorite things are in the same video... Neil Patrick Harris and rent
Love this comment--thanks and glad you found it.
He played this role SO perfectly
Another gem! Thanks for uploading this :)
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Angelic voice
Saw this twice in Los Angeles. So glad to see this clip.
Everytime I want to watch a new musical NPH is there
Holy shit, how perfect was he for this role?
Absolutely great. ❤️🇩🇰
His fucking voice is phenomenal omg
God I want him to punch me in the face. He is such an amazing Mark I'm actually blown away and breath-taken.
Really wanted to see him doing the Tango:Maureen.
I didn't know that i needed this till now
0:50 1:38 6:45 9:52 Just Wow
Omg part of that table dance was what he did as Count Olaf in Season 2
Thank you so much for uploading this! Do you happen to have the full bootleg of NPH in Rent?
I did not know I needed to hear NPH singing Halloween today but I did
Post-Doogie, Pre-Barney. NPH always ❤
Aurora, do you have any vids of NPH in Cabaret? He was divine.
He is actually my favorite in this role! The timing in la vie bohéme is much better than the original. I didn't know he was such a triple threat, but damn he really is!
I aM DYING FrOM THIS OMfG
Omfg I'd there a full show of this
this is soo awesome, i wish i could see the full version
Oh wow Neil! Amazing!!
Amazing, thanks for the video.
Did he flip off the person taking the bootleg in the la vie boheme reprise? Because if so that’s amazing
Where?
Around 3:42 when he says "sleaze."
Haha! It looked like he was, but tried not to make it obvious.
Ahhahahahahah
getting flipped off by Neil Patrick Harris would be such an honor
We are blessed
halloween was breath taking. so much emotion. NPH is amazing
This is my favourite thing
I loveeeeeee neil!!!!!!
why'd I get chills
this, i love this
Anthony Rapp did a great job as Mark but I really like NPH as Mark too!
Great show ! Funny I was in a show with the guy who played Rodger.
Neil’s amazing!!! Gosh!!!! He’s overflowing with talent! Do you perhaps have the time when he played Jonathan Larson in tick tick boom in london??
I wish I did---it's a hole in my collection.
@@auroraspiderwoman5886 aw that’s a bummer 🤧 bu still huge thank u for sharing this, you have no idea how happy this makes me. is there a full version of this somewhere?
1:13 NPH really said 🏃🏼♂️
Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He’s actually just the best at everything
roger is so freaking good
Anyone know of a full NPH version anywhere? Thanks!
Why am I just hearing bout him being in rent just now!!
Oh my goodness NPH actually played Mark I saw an SNL with different Broadway characters and he was Mark but I had no idea he actually played the role on Broadway
I don't believe he was ever in "Rent" on Broadway---just the tour, in L.A. and perhaps a couple of other cities.
Neil is so great...rivals Anthony Rapp
"Vampire welfare queens who are compulsive bowlers" ....did he improvise that? I am fairly certain....RENT+NPH I am squeeing. Thank you so much for posting this!! :D
Alison Wonderland no that's in the script haha
Yaaaas RUclips recommendations yaaaaaassss
Love this comment---there is indeed great value in YT recommendations. Glad you found this channel.
I think I have a new favorite Mark
at 3:40 did he gave the finger directly to the camera?? so scary!!!!!
Wow. I'd seen some really crappy back of house shaky footage of NPH as Mark and kind of never thought much of him in this show based on that. Now that I can actually see his performance though, I gotta say he's better than Rapp. And I love Rapp.
I felt the same way the first time I watched this back in '97. Thanks for your comment.
How is this in really good quality. RENT videos that were filmed at this point of time would have been bad quality. That’s pretty cool it has aged well. I am very surprised about the quality.
Thanks for noticing.
This would be so good if it had any decent lighting
Marielle Sansig i know right! Like did the light guy just take off that night???
Patrick Harris really did performed in RENT?? It's so weird to think of him as Mark because he's so different from Stinson.
I honestly think he did such a good job. Of course he’s not Anthony rapp but he really plays the character well
dam no one will ever put the Sauce in this roll the way he did :/ i get so sad remembering that he wasn't in the movie. we were so robbed.
Nel Larsen Anthony Rapp was better, no offense, I still like NPH's version too.
Nope. Nph is good but too high pitch. Anthony and adam were amazing and harmonized perfectly.
Omg no the maureen
Not a good Maureen IMHO!
I thought it made sense for whenever Daphne Rubin Vega portrayed Mimi in a raspy unconventional way because she was supposed to sound like someone who struggles with addiction. But that might be the worst Maureen I’ve ever heard.
I've never clicked so fast
flipping of the camera was a big power move you go NPH